Upstate News

Adele Faber, best-selling author and expert on family communication, will speak on “Siblings Without Rivalry” Saturday, Oct.16 at Henninger High School, 600 Robinson St., Syracuse. Registration is at 8:15 a.m. and the program from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The $20 admission fee includes a continental breakfast and box lunch.

Faber’s appearance is part of Parenting Connections’ annual conference of which University Hospital is a major sponsor. Parenting Connections is a collaboration between the Onondaga County Child Care Council and The Consortium for Children’s Services.

Relationships between siblings are often characterized by competitiveness, jealousy, and seemingly endless bickering or fighting. Faber challenges the myth that constant sibling conflict is natural and that it is the parents’ or other caregivers’ responsibility to act as referees in all disputes. She offers substantive, practical advice peppered with lively, personal anecdotes to help parents learn how to move their children from competition to cooperation and to remove themselves from the crossfire. The conference format includes interactive presentations, role playing and exercises.

“Siblings Without Rivalry” is based on the book of the same name which Faber wrote with Elaine Mazlish. The book was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The co-authors’ many books have won the gratitude of parents and the enthusiastic praise of the professional community. Their first collaborative work, “Liberated Parents: Liberated Children,” was selected by the Book of the Month Club. Their second book, “How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk,” sold almost two million copies.

This best selling book was the topic of last year’s Parenting Connections’ annual conference. As a result of the enthusiastic response to Faber’s presentation, conference organizers invited her back this year.

Faber is a former teacher who taught in New York City high schools. She has combined years of study with renowned psychologist Haim Ginott with her own psychological insights and experiences as a teacher and mother of three to produce a body of work that has inspired professionals and served as a practical guide to parents of children of all ages. Her work is dedicated to giving adults the skills they need to bridge the communication gap with the children in their lives. She does this with action oriented stories, role playing and scripts that teach practical and effective strategies and skills.

Parenting Connections annual conference is designed to meet parents’ and professionals’ needs for information and support on parenting issues.